The Innkeeper

Chapter 2338: Lord Fortune

The moment Lex spotted the snake, the snake felt an unprecedented sense of terror, as if its life and death had already been determined! In her entire life, even in the occasional times she suffered through the Hollow’s retribution, she had not felt this kind of danger!

The grey scales on her body gently curved, creating sharp edges along her body so that whatever touched her would be cut by her scales, yet it would hardly be useful here. Before she could even think of escape, the figure appeared right in front of her.

He looked like a human, but she had never met a human this terrifying, not to mention the aura around him was too unfamiliar.

"Senior, I apologize!" she immediately exclaimed, not bothering with any pretense whatsoever! "I did not mean anything! I did not mean to criticise!"

She closed her eyes and bowed her head, as if to show complete deferral. Out in the wilds, there was no law and order. Her life and death were entirely in the hands of this human, she knew that well. Without any tools that could help her escape, she could only hope that this senior was merciful.

Lex smiled amusedly. He could tell that the snake in front of him likely anticipated that he could read her thoughts easily, so all her thoughts were about completely giving up any desire to fight back.

"Be at ease. I didn’t come here to harm you, I just came here for some information. You’re the first sentient being I’ve seen since I entered the Gilded Hollow," Lex said casually. He was not concerned about leaking his information because in front of him, this snake could not resist at all.

Upon hearing his swords, the snake was stunned, and then her eyes widened!

"You... you’re from Vaelûn!" she suddenly exclaimed, naming the universe itself as if it were no big deal. In fact, even Lex was stunned to hear it.

Even if he had not already known the name, as a native of Vaelûn, the moment he heard the name he would know it belonged to his universe. The issue was that hardly anyone ever took the name directly. He wasn’t sure if there were any taboos related to it.

Even if there were, it seemed they didn’t exist within the Hollow.

"Yes, and it appears to me that you’re someone from the Gilded Hollow," Lex said as he observed her curiously. "That’s quite strange. According to the information I had before coming in, no one has ever encountered another person in the Hollow before, and the chances for anyone to survive in the Hollow are slim to none."

The snake heard Lex’s words in a daze, and then suddenly felt a surge of excitement fill her.

"Do you- does that mean... is it really? The Gilded Hollow has opened once more?" she asked, the sheer excitement filling her making her somewhat incoherent.

"Yes, it has been a few years. I’m not sure how long the Gilded Hollow will remain open. It seems you know quite a lot about it," said Lex, his words carrying a certain meaning of their own.

The snake suddenly recovered from her shock and realized what the senior was hinting at. He wanted her to give him information about this place! That wasn’t a problem at all! Excitement started to tingle her scale, causing her to almost shiver!

"Yes, yes senior! Let me tell you all about it. Actually, I may not know the full history of the Gilded Hollow, but I know the gist of it," she said, eager to impress. "My name is Mithon, and I was born inside the Hollow, given life by Lord Fortune, ruler of the Fortune stronghold.

"According to the teachings of the Fortune stronghold, we are inside a place known as the Gilded Hollow, which exists inside a ’universe’ known as Vaelûn. No one knows what Vaelûn is like, except that it is not as tyrannical and difficult to survive in as the Hollow.

"Most residents consider the teachings of Vaelûn to be a legend or fable, since most of us were born and raised in the Hollow. But since these are the teachings of Lord Fortune, none dare reject it out right. I, at least, have never met anyone from Vaelûn besides you, senior."

Mithon tried to give Lex a flattering, appeasing look, but a smiling snake was not exactly pleasant to look at.

"Who is this Lord Fortune? What is the Fortune Stronghold? What are the dangers of the Hollow?" Lex asked, cutting right to the heart of the matter.

Mithon seemed stumped, as if unsure how to answer these questions.

"Lord Fortune is... well, he is the lord. I don’t know what other way to say it. He is the ruler of the Fortune Stronghold, the only city inside the Hollow. He is the one who has given life to almost all who live within the Hollow, with the few others being the descendants of those who also supposedly came to the Hollow from Vaelûn.

"The Fortune stronghold is both a city and a fort, and is the only one within all of the Hollow. According to some legends, once upon a time there were many such cities and forts, but now only the Fortune stronghold has survived. I heard there were other lords as well, but I’ve never heard of them. Either they’ve died, or they all work for Lord Fortune and no longer claim any lordship.

"I don’t know the reasons, but I can guess pretty easily. It’s probably because none other than Lord Fortune can resist... Hollow’s retribution. When it comes, Lord Fortune protects those who live within the stronghold. As for those outside, they are entirely on their own. The lucky survive, and the unlucky die. That’s all there is to it."

Lex frowned as he pondered her words. Was it really all just a matter of luck? What exactly was this retribution? Did no one other than Lord Fortune know how to resist it?

Before he could ask these questions, Mithon spoke on her own.

"But now that the Gilded Hollow has opened up once more, the rules have changed!" she exclaimed with excitement. "The Lord Fortune taught us all. Once the Hollow opens up once more, it’ll be our one opportunity to escape this place once and for all! After all, that’s the one time where the Hollow’s retribution is suppressed to a certain extent, giving us a chance for survival!"

Lex raised an eyebrow out of curiosity. The retribution was suppressed while the Hollow was open? Considering the fact that so many Dao Lords had died the last time it opened, believing the retribution was weakened was... a little scary.